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Month: May 2010

I found it interesting that the Oregon newspaper has tons of negative comments similar to what you would see in the Enquirer. Frankly, I think Cincinnati and Portland are both fantastic cities. I don’t know why so many people hate their city so much. Does the anonymous nature of commenting encourage the vitriol, or is is the negativity encouraged by the papers as a way to drive pageviews?

Streetcar opponents are quick to say the project is a subsidy for an urban lifestyle. But they don’t seem to mind the billions of dollars being spent to reconfigure Interstate 75 or build parking garages that subsidize a suburban lifestyle.

For Greater Cincinnati to succeed, we need a thriving urban core. Businesses downtown generate the tax revenues that fund our entire city, so new development downtown will benefit all 52 neighborhoods. Every modern streetcar system built in the U.S. has successfully attracted new businesses and residents to the route and revitalized the surrounding area, and Cincinnati’s streetcar will do the same.

I’m a 22-year-old recent UC graduate who moved to Over-the-Rhine because of the incredible positive energy and transformation occurring here. You have to see the neighborhood firsthand to believe how far it’s come already. Let’s continue the revitalization of downtown and Over-the-Rhine by building the streetcar.